Last year, the fuel economy for light-duty vehicles displayed a striking contrast. On one hand, the average fuel economy hit a new high, and on the other, the pandemic reduced time on the road, fuel use, and emissions. Witnessing short-term gains, this has aroused interest of policymakers to spur efforts for even greater fuel efficiency in the long term, and reduce emissions for gasoline-powered vehicles. Such moves are likely to be adopted in majority of the U.S. automotive market in the future. At the same time, to meet the surging demand of online ordering by Americans who have quarantined themselves, freight trucks have regained activity. And, consumption of diesel has escalated even higher than those in pre-pandemic times.
Meanwhile, last year, a recent report of Co-optimization of Fuels & Engines Initiative of the Department of Energy, details the findings that could translate to significantly reduce greenhouse gas and tailpipe emissions.
In fact, a major part of the Co-optima research focuses on elements such as blendstocks. These can be produced a wide range of domestic resources, which include renewable biomass, and combined with petroleum-based fuels. Following this, Co-optima researchers have advanced significantly to understand impact of blendstocks on vehicle efficiency and emissions. Importantly, the research in the Fiscal Year 2020 concentrates on multimode combustion strategies for light-duty vehicles, mixing of controlled compression ignition, and advanced compression ignition strategies for heavy-duty and medium-duty vehicles.
“The combining of new blendstocks with pretoleum-based fuels in advanced engines results in substantial reduction of polluting emissions, stated a senior research fellow at National Renewable Energy Laboratory.” The blendstocks that are in question reduce greenhouse emissions by more than 60% compared to the petroleum fuel that is displaced.